Reification and Truthmaking Patterns

Reification is a standard technique in conceptual modeling, which consists of including in the domain of discourse entities that may otherwise be hidden or implicit. However, deciding what should be rei- fied is not always easy. Recent work on formal ontology offers us a simple answer: put in the domain of discourse those entities that are responsible for the (alleged) truth of our propositions. These are called truthmakers. Re-visiting previous work, we propose in this paper a systematic analysis of truthmaking patterns for properties and relations based on the ontolog- ical nature of their truthmakers. Truthmaking patterns will be presented as generalization of reification patterns, accounting for the fact that, in some cases, we do not reify a property or a relationship directly, but we rather reify its truthmakers

Canister for Producing TMA Trails in the Upper Atmosphere

Payload canister for producing trimethyl aluminum trails in upper atmosphere using Nike-Cajun or Nike-Apache rocke

Tertiary Climate Change and the Diversification of the Amazonian Gecko Genus Gonatodes (Sphaerodactylidae, Squamata)

The genus Gonatodes is a monophyletic group of small-bodied, diurnal geckos distributed across northern South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. We used fragments of three nuclear genes (RAG2, ACM4, and c-mos) and one mitochondrial gene (16S) to estimate phylogenetic relationships among Amazonian species of Gonatodes. We used Penalized Likelihood to estimate timing of diversification in the genus. Most cladogenesis occurred in the Oligocene and early Miocene and coincided with a burst of diversification in other South American animal groups including mollusks, birds, and mammals. The Oligocene and early Miocene were periods dominated by dramatic climate change and Andean orogeny and we suggest that these factors drove the burst of cladogenesis in Gonatodes geckos as well as other taxa. A common pattern in Amazonian taxa is a biogeographic split between the eastern and western Amazon basin. We observed two clades with this spatial distribution, although large differences in timing of divergence between the east–west taxon pairs indicate that these divergences were not the result of a common vicariant event

Is Whole Body Vibration (WBV) a Safe and Effective Adjunctive Therapy for Reducing Fall Risk in the Elderly?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not whole body vibration (WBV) is a safe and effective adjunctive therapy for reducing fall risk in the elderly.STUDY DESIGN: A review of English language randomized controlled blinded trials published within peer-reviewed journals from 2005-2010 evaluating the effectiveness of WBV in reducing fall and fall risk. The studies included elderly participants age 60 and older.DATA SOURCES: Randomized controlled blinded trials were found using PubMed, Medline and OVID databases.OUTCOMES MEASURED: Outcomes measured were reduction in fall number and reduction in fall risk. Fall number was assessed using a prospective self-reported count on number of falls via calendar system. Fall risk was assessed via three measures: a multifactorial fall risk parameter (the Physiological Profile Assessment), the Timed Up & Go (TUG) test which evaluates functional mobility and the Tinetti test which measures balance and identifies gait abnormalities.RESULTS: One RCT found that WBV added onto an 18 month multifunctional exercise program significantly reduced the fall rate compared to the control group who did not receive WBV. The other two RCT’s that evaluated fall risk reduction displayed mixed results – one showed a significant positive change in both the Tinetti and TUG tests in the experimental group receiving WBV; the other RCT’s outcome measurement of the Physiological Profile Assessment displayed a positive change after WBV that did not reach significance when compared to control while the TUG test improved significantly in the experimental group receiving WBV.CONCLUSION: The results of the three RCT’s presented evidence that WBV can significantly and safely reduce falls and certain parameters that confer for a reduction in fall risk. While the Physiological Profile Assessment did not reach a significant change entirely, when the fall risk parameter was examined on the level of stratified subgroups, a significant change was displayed in fall risk when comparing the most high-risk group to control groups. However, the duration and length of therapy and vibration parameters need to be more accurately determined through future comparative trials

A New Genus of Miniaturized and Pug-Nosed Gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota)

Sphaerodactyl geckos comprise five genera distributed across Central and South America and the Caribbean. We estimated phylogenetic relationships among sphaerodactyl genera using both separate and combined analyses of seven nuclear genes. Relationships among genera were incongruent at different loci and phylogenies were characterized by short, in some cases zero-length, internal branches and poor phylogenetic support at most nodes. We recovered a polyphyletic Coleodactylus, with Coleodactylus amazonicus being deeply divergent from the remaining Coleodactylus species sampled. The C. amazonicus lineage possessed unique codon deletions in the genes PTPN12 and RBMX while the remaining Coleodactylus species had unique codon deletions in RAG1. Topology tests could not reject a monophyletic Coleodactylus, but we show that short internal branch lengths decreased the accuracy of topology tests because there were not enough data along these short branches to support one phylogenetic hypothesis over another. Morphological data corroborated results of the molecular phylogeny, with Coleodactylus exhibiting substantial morphological heterogeneity. We identified a suite of unique craniofacial features that differentiate C. amazonicus not only from other Coleodactylus species, but also from all other geckos. We describe this novel sphaerodactyl lineage as a new genus, Chatogekko gen. nov. We present a detailed osteology of Chatogekko, characterizing osteological correlates of miniaturization that provide a framework for future studies in sphaerodactyl systematics and biology

Population Genetic Structure and Species Delimitation of a Widespread, Neotropical Dwarf Gecko

Amazonia harbors the greatest biological diversity on Earth. One trend that spans Amazonian taxa is that most taxonomic groups either exhibit broad geographic ranges or small restricted ranges. This is likely because many traits that determine a species range size, such as dispersal ability or body size, are autocorrelated. As such, it is rare to find groups that exhibit both large and small ranges. Once identified, however, these groups provide a powerful system for isolating specific traits that influence species distributions. One group of terrestrial vertebrates, gecko lizards, tends to exhibit small geographic ranges. Despite one exception, this applies to the Neotropical dwarf geckos of the genus Gonatodes. This exception, Gonatodes humeralis, has a geographic distribution almost 1,000,000 km2 larger than the combined ranges of its 30 congeners. As the smallest member of its genus and a gecko lizard more generally, G. humeralis is an unlikely candidate to be a wide-ranged Amazonian taxon. To test whether or not G. humeralis is one or more species, we generated molecular genetic data using restriction-site associated sequencing (RADseq) and traditional Sanger methods for samples from across its range and conducted a phylogeographic study. We conclude that G. humeralis is, in fact, a single species across its contiguous range in South America. Thus, Gonatodes is a unique clade among Neotropical taxa, containing both wide-ranged and range-restricted taxa, which provides empiricists with a powerful model system to correlate complex species traits and distributions. Additionally, we provide evidence to support species-level divergence of the allopatric population from Trinidad and we resurrect the name Gonatodes ferrugineus from synonymy for this population

Measurements techniques and models to assess odor annoyance: A review

Odors have received increasing attention among atmospheric pollutants. Indeed, odor emissions are a common source of complaints, affecting the quality of life of humans and animals. The odor is a property of a mixture of different volatile chemical species (sulfur, nitrogen, and volatile organic compounds) capable of stimulating the olfaction sense sufficiently to trigger a sensation of odor. The impact of odors on the surrounding areas depends on different factors, such as the amount of odors emitted from the site, the distance from the site, weather conditions, topography, other than odors sensitivity and tolerance of the neighborhood. Due to the complexity of the odor issue, the aim of this review was to give an overview of: (i) techniques (sensorial and analytical) that can be used to determine a quantitative and qualitative characterization; (ii) air dispersion models applied for the evaluation of the spatial and temporal distribution of atmospheric pollutants in terms of concentration in air and/or deposition in the studied domain; (iii) major sources of odor nuisance (waste and livestock); (iv) mitigation actions against odor impact. Among sensorial techniques dynamic olfactometry, field inspection, and recording from residents were considered; whereas, for analytical methodologies: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, identification of specific compounds, and electronic nose. Both kinds of techniques evaluate the odor concentration. Instead, to account for the effective impact of odors on the population, air dispersion models are used. They can provide estimates of odor levels in both current and future emission scenarios. Moreover, they can be useful to estimate the efficiency of mitigation strategies. Most of the odor control strategies involve measures oriented to prevent, control dispersion, minimize the nuisance or remove the odorants from emissions, such as adequate process design, buffer zones, odor covers, and treatment technologies

Fluorescence and Hybrid Detection Aperture of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The aperture of the Fluorescence Detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory is evaluated from simulated events using different detector configurations: mono, stereo, 3-FD and 4-FD. The trigger efficiency has been modeled using shower profiles with ground impacts in the field of view of a single telescope and studying the trigger response (at the different levels) by that telescope and by its neighbours. In addition, analysis cuts imposed by event reconstruction have been applied. The hybrid aperture is then derived for the Auger final extension. Taking into account the actual Surface Detector (SD) array configuration and its trigger response, the aperture is also calculated for a typical configuration of the present phase.Comment: contribution to the 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Pune, India, 3-10 August 200